


Without a Noise, Without My Pride

by ambiguously



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Bodyswap, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 07:18:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15359181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguously/pseuds/ambiguously
Summary: Finn and Kylo accidentally trade bodies.





	Without a Noise, Without My Pride

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [finnlomod](https://archiveofourown.org/users/finnlomod/pseuds/finnlomod) in the [FinnloFest2018](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/FinnloFest2018) collection. 



> **Prompt:** Open Fic Prompt: write what you want!

The very first thing Finn noticed was his own splitting headache. Even cracking his eyes open lanced shafts of painful light right into his brain. Ugh.

Had he been injured? They'd run into First Order scouts a couple of times recently, but he couldn't remember taking a hit to the head or anywhere else as they'd fought. Flying accident? The handful of rusted old hoppers they'd scrounged flew like bricks and were just as maneuverable. Had he crashed during a test flight?

He opened his eyes again. The pain was a little less now. The room was dark, and the light that had pained him came from a small lamp beside the bed.

Two things. First, he was in a bed. As far as Finn knew, he'd never slept in a proper bed with sheets, only uncomfortable bunks. Second, the lamp was the cold, efficient shape of the First Order's repurposed Imperial cast-offs. Finn reached out to examine it.

Then he saw his arm.

Shock drew him back and away, tumbling off the other side of the bed, as if he could escape the stranger whose arm he'd seen. He banged his head on the floor, and thrashed in the sheets that had followed him. His arms, impossible as they were, flailed and shook, and below them, legs that were equally strange.

Panic clawed at his throat, and he pushed it down with a swear Poe had taught him.

His hands flew to his neck, not believing the sound he'd just heard. He swore again, louder this time, and the voice he heard, echoing deeper in the hollows of his own ears, frightened him.

Finn forced himself to calm down. This was a dream. Nightmare. Didn't matter. He'd had his share of horrible nights, chased by monsters and worse. Half his dreams were spent in search of a refresher he couldn't use, and weird body aside, he was going to look for one in this nightmare, too. Another bad dream wouldn't kill him. He'd wake up in an hour or two, march himself to breakfast, and Poe and Rose could tease him about his bleary face.

He dragged himself to his feet. This room was unfamiliar and sparsely decorated. He saw the opening for a refresher cubicle to one side, and staggered towards it, long legs not under his complete control. His arms held to the wall as he walked, and little pinpricks attacked the soles of his feet. He remembered a story from the crèche, under the care of one of his kinder guardians. There'd been a girl from a water planet who'd fallen in love with a boy from a planet with only land, and the price for her steps on the hard, compacted dirt had been pricks every day, every step. Finn remembered the story whenever his foot fell asleep, and he remembered it now as he stumbled into the 'fresher.

It was darker in here, not lit by the low lamplight. Some things he knew how to do without seeing.

His hands fumbled for cleaner, and his too-awkward elbow bumped the button for the light. More stabbing pain shot into his eyes, but not before he saw the face in the mirror and let out a tight, almost soundless scream.

* * *

Kylo blinked awake, and saw a shoulder in his face. He was aware of another hand resting on the arm attached to that shoulder. Befuddled, he tried working out how the hand was attached to the arm before understanding it couldn't be, that it was someone else's hand, and that a third or fourth arm was laying over his chest uncomfortably.

He hadn't spent a night asleep with one extra person in his bed, much less three.

He closed his eyes and thought. He'd found the list of charms locked down in the old Imperial database, something that should have been known to the few with the proper code and credentials back in the days before he'd been born. Kylo had hazarded a few guesses at his grandfather's passcodes and broke in after four attempts. Most Jedi lore was lost with the Jedi, and the scraps that remained were curiosities.

He'd been curious.

Exchange, it had promised. Trade for trade. Kylo had hoped to connect with Rey, exchange thoughts with her again, if only to discover the current position of what passed for the Resistance.

He sat up slowly, careful not to wake any of his bedfellows. In the dim light, he made out faces, and a jolt struck him when he recognized Dameron. It had worked. He was aboard their ship. He scanned the other sleepers, and didn't see Rey. He could slay them now, or he could keep up his secret while he looked for her. As he moved to extricate himself, his muscles reacting oddly after the transfer, Dameron woke.

He yawned loudly. Then he said, "Go back to sleep."

Kylo let a few heartbeats pass, but Dameron didn't seem to notice who he was. He started to move again, and Dameron moved his hand and smacked Kylo's leg lightly. "I mean it, Finn."

Kylo froze. His eyes flickered to Dameron's face, which was settling back to sleep, and then to his own hand, which he raised to his face.

This had not been the plan.

* * *

Finn staggered back, his gaze locked on the mirror. Of all his nightmares, this was the worst, and the horror hadn't improved upon learning the face under the dark mask was human. He felt too sick for this to be a dream, though, and a splash of water on his face in the hope of waking up only brought it home that there would be no waking.

Okay, think. What could have landed him in a body that looked like Kylo Ren's, down to the scar across his face? Finn came up short. Rey was still learning about this Jedi stuff, reading the old books she'd stolen ("Scavenged," she always corrected) from Luke Skywalker. She couldn't have, wouldn't have, but that didn't mean Ren himself didn't have a not-so-bright idea.

He leaned again to the mirror, fascinated.

A second face appeared, overlaid almost perfectly. This was Ren, and he was staring at Finn.

"So I thought," he said, the words echoing inside Finn's head.

"What the hell did you do?"

"I'd explain but you're not bright enough to understand."

Finn felt anger spike inside his belly, or someone's belly. That was good. Angry wasn't afraid. Ren had done something stupid, and now he was stuck in Ren's body, and this was all Ren's fault.

"Out of curiosity, what happens if I cut your throat right now?" Finn smiled with Ren's own mouth in the mirror. He didn't intend to die here wearing his enemy's face unless it was the only option left to him.

"Try it and find out."

"I will if you don't put me back right now."

There was a long pause. The second image flickered. "The effect should wear off in a while."

"The effect?" Finn would punch the mirror if he wasn't sure that would hurt. Leaving Ren with a few more scars was a pleasant thought right up to feeling the injuries himself, or having to live with them permanently if Ren was wrong.

"Consider this an information trade. I'll be wandering your ship. Everyone will think I'm you. You can wander mine looking like me." His eyes glittered with amusement. Finn had once or twice suspected Kylo Ren had no more love for the First Order than he did, and stayed not out of loyalty but out of fear. He'd be collecting intel on the Resistance yet didn't mind if Finn did the same.

The second face faded away. "Hey!" said Finn. "Come back!"

Nothing.

He rested his forehead against the cool surface of the mirror. Staying mad at Ren was helping him not to panic. Fine. He could gather intelligence. He could be a spy. His gaze dropped down. He was wearing Kylo Ren's body, and that body was stark naked. First point of business: get dressed.

He took another look. He'd expected Ren to be some scrawny, gangly scarebird, held together by malice and dark clothes. He hadn't expected the muscled lines of his abdomen, nor the firm form everywhere else.

He was ogling Kylo Ren. Finn groaned and went to look for clothes.

* * *

Kylo left the 'fresher in search of his quarry. He'd attempted to contact Rey, and he would make his attempt this way instead. She trusted FN-2187. He could ask her questions, and she wouldn't suspect who he really was until and unless he told her.

But where to look?

The Resistance had been whittled down to a few dozen, hardly worth the effort of pursuing. They'd holed up somewhere, and as he poked his head into rooms, they apparently piled into small communal sleeping areas, four or five to a hard bunk. Women and men and so on weren't sleeping separately, and Rey hadn't been tumbled in with FN-2187 and Dameron. Perhaps she had her own quarters.

He ambled through the base, taking mental notes. It seemed they had replenished some of their numbers, Mother having deluded more fools into her cause.

His step paused.

Kylo lacked his powers, and this was irritating. Normally he'd reach out with the Force and seek the two strongest points nearby. Either would do. Instead he considered a new strategy. The command center would be away from the sleeping quarters, and on a base this small, it wouldn't be far. He tried to pay attention to the corridors in case he needed to return, but they all had the bland, nondescript sameness of another old Rebellion base fallen into disuse.

There was only a small staff on duty. He tried on a smile, wearing FN-2187's face, before dropping it again. Friendly, but wanting to be serious. Kylo had no hope for getting his voice pattern right, and went for simple. "I need to speak with General Organa. It's important."

The young woman on duty gave a short yawn. "The comm's out again."

"I can join her where she is."

The girl grinned at him. "Go back to bed, Finn. Rey and the General will be back in a few days. You can wait."

Kylo gave her the quick smile again. "I guess you're right. Thanks."

As soon as he was out of the command room, he banged FN-2187's head against the wall three times.

* * *

Finn spent far too long figuring out how Kylo Ren got dressed. Did he have helpers or something? Who needed all these separate pieces? Most of them weren't even armor!

No helmet, no matter where he looked. Guess the guy was going bare-faced these days.

Finn left the room, keeping close to the walls. He'd gather what intel he could and get back to the Resistance before Ren hurt anyone. Maybe he could transmit a message to them somehow. Rey and the General had taken the _Falcon_ on a private mission somewhere with Chewbacca, meeting with one of her allies from the old days. Maybe he could get a message through to them and they could warn the base.

Two stormtroopers turned the corner in front of him. Finn made himself stay calm. They paused and saluted, then hurried a little faster along their way. Good. They thought he was Kylo Ren. Should he say something?

"Good work, 'troopers," he said, something that would have been nice to hear once or twice back when he'd been wearing that armor.

The 'troopers hesitated, giving each other a look before turning to Finn again. "Uh, thank you, sir," said one. Finn wasn't sure, but he thought he recognized the voice.

Right. Don't talk to people. Yes, there was a tiny chance he'd convince one or two of them to defect. There was a much bigger chance of rousing suspicion.

He strode away, a little awkward with these longer legs. Ren always walked funny, though. It was probably fine. Finn tried to put on an air of menace, using his body language to say if anyone messed with him, he'd choke them with the Force like Rey threatened to do that one time when she'd thought he was cheating at cards.

Reconnaissance. He went to a computer terminal. It wanted credentials. Ren would have his memorized, and Finn's old creds would have been wiped. Irritated, Finn hit the console with one fist, thinking angry thoughts at it. He felt the annoyance surge out of him.

The console sparked under his touch. 

"Oh hell, I just used the Force!" A grin broke out over his face, and he tried to do it again, smashing harder. Nothing. He frowned. It had to have been the anger. That was Dark Side stuff, though, right?

The console kept sparking.

From around the corner, he heard running boots. He turned. Four 'troopers and a tech approached. The tech stopped as soon as he saw Finn. "What happened, sir?"

"Um. This panel is malfunctioning! Fix it!"

"Of course, sir," said the tech, clearly terrified, and he gestured for the 'troopers to help open the panel. Finn could feel how scared they were of him.

Definitely Dark Side. This was bad stuff. He had to keep in mind not to do anything else with the Force, or he might break worse than a panel. "And reset my passcode credentials."

"I can't do that from here, sir." Finn glared at him. He tried not to use the Force, relying on the stinking fear he sensed from the tech to work for him. "Ye- yes sir!"

* * *

Kylo lurked in the corridor for a while, before realizing he'd look suspicious if he lingered. He tried remembering where he'd come from. Perhaps if he made his way back to the sleeping area, he could dispatch the Resistance in their slumber and win the war in one night. Mother and Rey would come back to an empty base and understand the fight was finished.

He smiled at the thought, but the smile kept slipping away from his face. FN-2187's face. He wanted the picture of their destruction to be pleasant.

Perhaps he'd just tie their bootlaces together.

He made his way back, and came up short as he ran into a young woman. "Oh, Finn. Hi. You couldn't sleep either?"

"No," he said. He stretched his arms. "Just taking a walk."

"Great!" she said with a short not quite laugh. "I'll join you." Unexpectedly, she took Kylo's hand, threading their fingers together. Kylo stared at their joined hands a moment before she tugged him along another corridor.

"I was really hoping to be alone with my thoughts tonight," he said, stumbling a bit as the woman pulled him along. She was stronger than she looked, and seemed very at home with holding hands with the traitor. Finn. Kylo had also seen images of Finn inside Rey's mind during the time of their hot, mad communication weeks back. And he'd been asleep in a bunk with Dameron.

"That's fine. You can think and we'll just walk. I love walking to clear my head on rough nights. Nothing but the silence and you, letting yourself enjoy the motion of your legs and the little hum of things around you. The quiet is just so deep, you know? I can't get enough of it. Sometimes when we were little, Paige and I used to go for long walks at night listening to the hum-jumpers in the grass and watching the stars. It was so peaceful. We'd hardly say a word to each other at all."

His hand was going numb. So were his ears. Kylo's first instinct was to Force-push her into a wall, but he didn't have the Force, and she had a rather firm grip on his hand.

"Where are we walking?" he asked abruptly.

"Oh, nowhere. Just around. Is there somewhere you had in mind?"

He wanted to go back to the command center, but another thought occurred. "Let's go outside."

The woman laughed. "I tell people you're funny, and no one believes me. You always act so serious. 'Let's go outside.'" She laughed again. "Good one."

Kylo made himself smile briefly. "You are very pretty when you laugh," he said, which seemed like something Finn would say to someone holding his hand.

Now she blushed. "Thanks."

"How about we walk by the hangar instead?" He was pushing his luck on that one. The base was either on an inhospitable planet, or in space. Surely they had some kind of hangar for their tiny fleet.

"Sure," she said, and squeezed his hand. His fingers tingled from the lack of circulation.

* * *

Finn was alone when the felt the other pair of eyes staring out beside his. No mirror this time, though. Without preamble, Kylo Ren asked, "What is the name of this woman holding my hand?"

Finn bit his mouth closed to keep from answering.

"I'll find out," said Kylo Ren. "This is easier."

"You leave her alone!"

"I assure you I have no interest in either of your girlfriends or your boyfriend. How many people are you dating at one time?"

"It's not.... I'm not.... Look, none of us are dating. Poe and Rose are handsy with everyone. Rey says I'm her best friend." He glared, not knowing if Ren could even see his face. "I thought you were seeing Rey."

"The next time I see Rey, she's going to try to kill me and we both know it. And she's not even here."

Finn gave a short smile. He hadn't gotten his message sent yet, but Rey was still safe for now.

"Her name's Rose. If you hurt her, I won't have to threaten to kill you. She'll do it herself."

* * *

Kylo managed to rid himself of the young woman by feigning tiredness, letting her lead him back to the sleeping quarters with the pile of warm bodies. She kissed him on the cheek. "Sweet dreams."

For a moment, he was caught out. Mother had said the same words on the nights she'd tucked him in, smelling of her perfume and her hand soft on his head as she gave him a kiss. She hadn't tucked him into bed for twenty years, and he'd forgotten until this moment. This decrepit, pathetic excuse for a base, and this remnant of a fleet, these had been built by those same hands. He wondered if they were still as soft.

"Thanks," he said, because Finn would have. "You too."

Inside the room, he let himself into the 'fresher. Biology demanded his attention. He hadn't considered what this would entail before now. The only thing he could think about was when he was very small, and his father, with some patience, told him, "Hold it like a blaster and shoot, kid." The words repeated themselves in his head in his father's voice as he answered nature's call holding, as it were, his borrowed commlink.

He had to get out of here. This had been an inadvisable plan. As soon as he was back in order, Kylo slowed his breath. He simply had to repeat the incantation, and they would switch back.

If he had the Force.

Which he did not.

* * *

Finn had wandered up to the Bridge, thinking he could pick up more intel there. He stalked up to the first person he saw and said, "Report!" as sternly as he could.

"All is well," said the terrified young lieutenant. "Our scouts believe they may have found a trace of the last Resistance cell in the Tomark system. General Hux has given them the go-ahead to search."

"Belay that order," Finn said. "They're not in the Tomark system."

They were in the Tomark system. He had to get the First Order away from them fast. "I've had a Force vision," he said, improvising wildly. "They've gone to ground on, um, Onderon."

The lieutenant stared, mouth gaping. "Are you sure? Sir?"

"Do you dare defy me?" he asked thunderously. "They're on Onderon! Call off the search, pull back the troops, and set our course. That's an order. Tell Hux he'll have to deal with me if he disagrees."

He turned and strode away rapidly. So no, he didn't know where the First Order was, but now he knew where they were headed. He hurried down a few corridors until the Bridge was safely away, then found another console, plugging in the new passcodes he'd gotten.

Ren appeared behind his eyes, like a tickle in his head. "I'm about to take a ship and leave. Where is this place? We need to rendezvous."

"What? No! Don't steal a ship!"

"I'll find out as soon as I'm outside the base. You may as well tell me where I am."

"Do not steal a ship."

Ren went silent. Finn couldn't feel the creepy sensation of him looking over Finn's shoulder for a while. He tried closing his eyes and thinking at him: "Don't steal a ship!"

A few minutes later, as Finn was back to scanning through as many files as he could while he still had Ren's body, he felt the strange companion inside his head again.

"I've taken a ship.

"I told you not to take a ship!"

Ren ignored him. "I'm in orbit. I appear to be in the Tomark system. Meet me on Ividal."

"I am not meeting you on Ividal. Switch us back now!"

"I can't. We have to meet. Hurry up, or I'll send a message to the fleet and claim to be you deserting back to the First Order."

Ren shut the connection between them and Finn growled, punching the console again.

He wanted to stay here and poke around, maybe sabotage the ship he was on while he was here. If he was a better slicer, he could use this panel and rewire or reprogram something. Poe would be a great saboteur, or Rey, or Rose, or anyone else. At least Ren had left them alone. He knew where their base was now, and that was bad, but Finn felt sure he'd have gloated if he'd killed someone. 

He'd started a few flying lessons. He might be able to figure out the controls of a ship.

He made his way towards one of the TIE hangars, his feet knowing the way around a First Order ship even if he'd never served on this one before. Underlings saluted him or fled thinking he hadn't seen them. Finn felt their emotions every time, and he'd noticed something he'd always suspected back when he'd been a 'trooper. People were scared of Kylo Ren. They didn't like him or respect him. A few even gave off undercurrents of treason, plans already underway to oust him that they didn't know he could hear them thinking about.

Weird to think that, if the Resistance simply left the First Order alone, it might tear itself apart from within.

He reached the hangar while considering this. "Ready my ship," Finn commanded in his best impression of Ren's impatient tone. Technicians scattered like insects. He watched them ready a large TIE with a sleek design he hadn't seen before, and took the hint when they stood outside, waiting for him.

"Thank you," he said before he could stop himself. Kylo Ren would never, ever say thank you. "Ready for launch."

They left and he entered the cockpit, confused at the layout. Okay, control column here, starter button there. Navicomp right where it ought to be. This shouldn't be so hard.

He scraped the wall as he guided it shakily outside and towards the stars.

* * *

Kylo brought the ship out of hyperspace earlier than he might have and let himself enjoy flying it manually the rest of the way to his destination. The Resistance hadn't the funds for good ships these days. This one handled like an old training A-wing. His hands knew the controls, even if his reflexes were off inside this body. He felt calmer out here. He wanted it to last.

Some Force users chose not to use their powers to become Jedi or their opposite number. Some took their innate gifts and put the ability to use in careers as racers, or pilots. There were nights he'd knelt awake for hours, failing to meditate, brooding on the past, and he'd wondered how the galaxy he lived in today would have been different if his grandfather had eschewed the Jedi path early on and had become a pilot instead. There were nights he wondered if he could still walk away from where he was, drop his name and his history, and slide into a new life in the cockpit of a ship, trading the heavy darkness in his heart for the welcoming darkness between the stars.

His musings came to an end as he landed and saw the TIE already waiting.

His body stood outside, glaring at him as he emerged. The face was different from this perspective, not like it was in a mirror, nor in a holovid. Kylo examined himself with a critical eye, from the too-long frame that had led to unfunny jokes about Chewbacca's role in his conception, to the awkward face blending what should have been the best parts of his parents' features rather than their worst.

"I hate you," he muttered.

"I'm not your biggest fan, either. Trust me," said Finn through his own mouth. "Now switch us back, and we can both go home pretending neither of us had to use the 'fresher in the last day."

Kylo scowled, not wishing to revisit the memory. Then he paused, considering. "Have you ever wondered what that would be like?"

"What what would be like?" asked Finn, but Kylo knew his own face and knew he was lying. He'd followed the thought very well. At Kylo's stare, he said, "You're the galaxy's biggest narcissist, you know that?"

Kylo stepped closer, enjoying seeing the discomfort on his own face. "That's a big word for you. I could almost believe it was me standing there. Tell me, did you fool everyone or did you blunder around uselessly?"

Finn took a swing at him, but the body language was written in large, familiar print. Even in this less graceful body, Kylo could catch the punch. Somehow, the momentum carried them both around, and now his own body was in his arms, and they were face to face. Kylo knew he was the first one to move in for the kiss, though he'd deny it to his death.

He could count the passionate kisses he'd partaken of on one hand with fingers to spare. Despite Finn's comments about his handsy friends, he was suddenly sure the same could be said for him. Their mouths fumbled against each other, pent up with adrenaline, desire, and awakening curiosity.

"You should switch us back," Finn said, kissing him again.

"I should wait a few minutes," Kylo replied, and Finn agreed.

He knew the intricacies of his own clothes well enough, and Finn's garb was far less complex. "Hold it like a blaster" went through his head in one horrible moment until he quenched the thought down hard. It was his own prick hot in his hand, but Finn was feeling the slide of calluses over sensitive skin. Finn clearly had plenty of experience of his own, using Kylo's strong grip now to jerk him in Finn's own body. There had to be a better, cleaner, more powerful word for this than "masturbation," but Kylo's brain was too wrapped in an electrified buzz to come up with anything better. Kylo's own fingernail flicked once against the foreskin of Finn's prick, and Kylo moaned, experiencing the perfect pain-pleasure.

"Yeah," Finn said, and his mouth was too busy kissing Kylo to say more or explain how he'd learned he liked that.

Kylo didn't have many tricks for getting himself off. His private touches relied on the mental as much as they did the physical, his eyes shut in some fantasy. He didn't need the fantasy now, only the smooth slide of his borrowed palm against skin that he knew ached for harder and tighter. Clumsy in their bodies, they pushed and wriggled against each other, the heads of their pricks bumping together and their stroking knuckles knocking. The kisses had all but ceased, attention focused elsewhere, both sets of eyes locked on their hands. Kylo wanted to wrap their fingers together, rub their cocks with one stroke, and knew this wasn't the time. He had enough control of this body to jerk his elbow in a way that he knew would feel good, and that was the limit of his ability for now.

Like all the nice things in his life, it was over too quickly. Amid the pleasurable burst, his mind noticed how the body surrounding him experienced more involuntary twitches, the nerves jangling unlike his own. Seeing his own face taken in joy that looked like pain overwhelmed him, and another, shorter rush went through him. He coated his hand with a second dribble of sticky ejaculate, which ran over his fingers and onto the messy hand touching his.

He wanted to say something clever and dirty about having come inside Finn's body, then stood there transfixed as he watched his own hand lift to his own face. With a wet delicacy, Finn licked the come off his fingers, Kylo's fingers, meeting his eyes. Kylo could not resist diving in for a deep kiss and tasting the rich, salty flavor within the taste of his own teeth.

Finn pulled away from the kiss at last. He blinked, a little woozy, a little wary, his suspicions settling in an ugly scowl on Kylo's features. "You can switch us back now."

Kylo caught his breath. "You're the one with the Force. You'll have to do the incantation." He went through the words twice. Finn nodded and repeated them.

Nothing happened.

Finn swore, which sounded funny in Kylo's voice. Everything sounded funny right now, to tell the truth. He was always fuzzy-headed after an orgasm, and he felt the usual stupid grin slide over the face he wore. "Maybe it will work better if we're naked."

"Maybe I'll try again," said Finn, and closed his eyes. He calmed his breath, and if he was intelligent, reached out with the Force.

It felt like a sneeze. One moment, he was staring at his own face. The next moment, he was staring at Finn. Inside his familiar limbs, he felt the flow of his powers, his awareness of the galaxy around him, and also the chill of the air on his exposed prick, wet and sticky and shrinking.

Finn gave a relieved sigh, examining his hands and arms with a smile. He glanced down before tucking himself into his pants, and gave a full-body shake. "Much better." He gave Kylo a glare. "I'll be taking that ship back now." His muscles had already tensed, as if he expected a fight.

"And I'll take mine," Kylo said, instead of giving him that fight.

"Good."

They watched each other for a long moment.

Finn said, "You know General Hux is trying to get rid of you. There's a mutiny brewing."

"I know. It keeps him occupied."

"You don't have to stay with them. If you came back with me to the Resistance, you could do a lot of good."

"I am in charge of the First Order. If I kill you right now, it will save me a lot of trouble later."

Finn tensed again, then shrugged. "But you won't."

Kylo struggled for words, but he'd never been good with them. Fully in control of his body this time, he grabbed Finn's arm and pulled him in, kissing him hard one last time.

Finn kissed him back. Then he bit his lip. Kylo flinched. But he kind of liked it.

"I'll see you again," he said to Finn, and he turned and walked towards the TIE. It was only as he saw Finn's ship take off that he realized Finn had yanked out all the starting plugs in Kylo's ship.

Anger seethed through him. He might be stuck here for days until he could obtain spare parts. He punched the control column. The starting plugs rolled down the console from where Finn had left them, falling one by one onto Kylo's lap before dropping to the deck. Finn had given himself a head start of a few minutes, and that was all.

Kylo laughed. Huge, ungainly guffaws ripped out of him, full of stress and sorrow and unlooked for joy.

* * *

Finn had never had the opportunity to process feelings. He'd shared some quick fumbles back in the barracks with his fellow 'troopers from time to time, but they'd been discouraged from removing their helmets even then. He'd never kissed someone, not like that, and obviously never wearing someone else's body like armor. That it was his former boss and enemy number one of the Resistance was only a little weirder than the rest.

He decided he was never telling anyone what had happened, except the minimum necessary to let them know the base's location had been compromised.

The communicator buzzed. Finn opened the link.

"Finn," said Ren. Kylo. Finn supposed they ought to be on a first name basis now.

He took a breath. "What?"

"That woman with the iron grip. Rose. She strikes me as someone who'd try to kill me the second she sees me. Do you agree?"

Rose had in fact shared rather detailed fantasies about the bodily injuries she'd like to bestow on Kylo and the rest of his buddies. "You aren't wrong."

"You'll need to explain to her why she shouldn't slit my throat in my sleep or similar. And the others. You'll have to tell them as well. I can defend myself, of course, but it would hardly do to choke my new allies to death. You'd be upset. My mother would be angry. Rey would definitely be cross with me. So you'll help avoid that situation, won't you?"

Finn's heart raced. He forced himself to calm down. "I could be persuaded to help with that, yeah."

There was a long silence between them. Kylo said, "Bring the ship back." He paused again. "Please."

Finn stared at the panel. His mouth still felt the tingle of unfamiliar lips against his. He wondered how his lips would feel when Kylo was in his own body while Finn was in his. He wondered how his tongue would feel tracing the hard lines of Kylo's muscles down his belly.

He wondered how he was ever going to explain this to his friends.

What would a real pilot say? "Coming back for a landing," he said out loud. "Prepare to board."

He heard the laugh. "You have no idea what you're doing, do you? I'll fly us back."

"Shut up or I'm leaving you here."

Kylo laughed again, and it was a strange sound, but Finn decided he liked it.

end


End file.
